Hi all,
Just came across the site looking for a local forum and have to say it looks very promising. I'm picking up a boat here in the next few weeks, a 17' bayliner. I know it's not a true fishing boat, but I had to have one for the entire family to convince my wife it was worthwhile. I am putting a trolling motor and fish finder on it though. All the talk I see here about downrigging has peaked my interest in possibly adding those as well. I live in Eagle, so most of my fishing will be in SW Idaho. While I do love to fish, I am really more of a hack as no one in my family fished, so I am learning as I go along. Anyways, I hope to feed my addiction here and to gain as much knowledge as I can.
So, let me start with my first question. For my fish finder, I'm looking at a Humminbird 575. I wondering how well it would work seeing the bank fishing for smallies at say brownlee? Also, how well do these work in the sun? Seeing them at Cabela's the screen doesn't look very good, especially compared to some of the color screen ones. I would imagine that it looks quiet a bit better in direct sunlight though.
[url "http://www.humminbird.com/products.asp?ID=1000"][/url]
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Welcome to the site. The Humminbird 575 works great. In re to the sun, you can adjust the picture for contrast, and so it shouldn't be a problem. Do you need downriggers? If you are going to be fishing for trout, I would recommend them. However, lead core line will work just fine to a certain point. Even now, with most of the kokanee at Lucky Peak at the 25 ft. range, I noticed on my last trip that the lead core folks were also catching kokanee. Lead core produced just as well at Magic this summer. So, there is no doubt that at times the only effective technique is downriggers, but lead core is your next best thing. P.S.: Although they are hard to find in Idaho, I would definitely suggest a Penn downrigger. If you go to the West Coast, you will find that the majority of salmon fishermen use them. It is much easier to read the depths on them, and they are virtually indestructable. You might have to look on the internet for one. P.S.S.: You mention Cabelas. Don't forget to compare prices at Sportsman's Warehouse. I just saved a ton of money on a new smoker at S.W., as an example. Now get out there and start fishing!!! Mike
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First off WELCOME to our site.
As for fishfinders all are great and it is a matter of preference and your wallet in my opinion. As for trolling is concerned, I have fished with many expert fisherman and they have all told me that the finder is mostly to watch bottom structure and depth. I have also been told that they have picked up a many fish and never even seen them on the screen. As for jigging, I would get the most powerful unit you can afford with the best pixels. Being able to "SEE" the bottom is key to knowing what your jig is doing and if there may be fishing holding in the depths. The rest is presentation, recognizing the lite strike, and proper setting of the offering.
I prefer to troll with downriggers. I like the ability to gage my depth with adding rigger depth and lure dive rather that trying to figure out how many colors of lead I have out and factoring in trolling speed and lure depth.
Again, welcome and I hope you have a great time with us.
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Welcome to the site Corey, I'm over in Emmett and mostly fish Brownlee. Maybe I'll see you around.
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Thanks all for the welcome. I'm sure I'll like it here.
Kodak1, While I did mention Cabelas, I am a comparative shopper and do find myself buying most of most supplies at Sportsmans. Cabelas is nice to actually see something I may buy online as they have a great inventory. Joes, has pretty good pricing as well. Just a limited selection. Thanks for concern though and the heads up on the Penn downriggers.
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[#008080][size 3]You may want to do some research for your downriggers. I like and use Big Jon Speed Riggers. Their downriggers are made of machined aircraft aluminum, very strong, very durable. Wide variety of price ranges. You can see them at [url "http://www.bigjon.com"]http://www.bigjon.com[/url][/size][/#008080][#008080][size 3] [/size][/#008080]
[#008080][size 3]Walker also makes an excellent downrigger. They even have one with a camera system built in. You can see them at[/size][/#008080]
[#008080][size 3][url "http://www.shastatackle.com"]http://www.shastatackle.com[/url][/size][/#008080]
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I stopped in Joes today and had a look at their downriggers. The sales guy was definitely a Scotty guy. He was saying that Cannon and even the BigJon downriggers can suffer from stacking. Where the cable doesn't wrap up correctly, gets stacked up, and then falls off to the side causing issues next time you drop the weight.
Any thought on this?
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[#008080][size 3]Sounds like he wants to sell you a Scotty. He is giving you misinformation. He'd be a good car salesman.[/size][/#008080]
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Whats wrong with Cannon? I've have two electrics and one manual and have used them for over 22 years no problems.[
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Bodine
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He was saying that with the wheel being vertical it causes stacking, whereas the scotty would line up correctly. He said he gets people in all of the time complaining about cannon. If you have had no issue with Cannon all of those years, then maybe he gets a better commission on the Scottys?
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